Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I just discovered this term recently. Pinkwashing.org defines it as:

a term used to describe the activities of companies and groups that position themselves as leaders in the struggle to eradicate breast cancer while engaging in practices that may be contributing to rising rates of the disease.

I think we've all heard of Mike's Hard Lemonade cashing in:



And recently I saw egglands best commercial with pink ribbons on eggs.

What other pinkwashing campaigns have you seen? Does it bother you?

The KFC pinkwashing was the most egregious and offensive for me.
Buckets for the Cure:


I thought this was a really good article, about the connection between "pinkwashing" and big pharma and the insanity of corporations that sell carcenogenic products getting a sales bump from the pink ribbon.

The pink ribbon results in a cent or two going to Susan G. Komen, which supports animal testing and is basically a front for pharma companies. They have zero interest in funding research into cancer prevention. The remainder goes right to the bottom line for the company.

Do you have links or to support this? I knew about the animal testing but not the other stuff.

I was going to say the KFC one too.
All the companies that sell pink everything bug me too. $30 for a pink shirt? Just go get a pink shirt at the thrift store and donate the extra $25 to whatever breast cancer foundation. It's way better than the 2 dollars they would get from the sale of that shirt.

The worst:



Post from some blog.

Nevermind, they don't count!

What is a good foundation to donate to for breast cancer research? Now I don't really trust Susan G Komen foundation. If most of their funding goes to new drugs, I can understand the connection they might have with big pharmas. Their website says that they fund breast cancer screening and prevention projects, which I like. But what percentage of their research goes to that?

I call it the "Breast Cancer Industry." It annoys the shiitake out of me and I refuse to buy any of it.

I was at a bills game recently where they did it. It pissed me off so much. No more pink!

Yeah, I get really annoyed about it. Also the whole "teehee boobies" campaign. My little brother has a wristband that says "I love boobies" that are supposedly being sold to benefit breast cancer research.
Having said that, I did try the pink lemonade Mikes Hard and it is surprisingly good.

Ugh, I can't find the really good article I read about this topic, and I'm not sure it listed any foundations or companies that were good to donate to, but I did a quick google search and found this blog: http://greenlagirl.com/think-before-you ... ed-cancer/

She lists a few at the bottom. I'll keep searching for the other article.

eta: here's one that lists what percentage goes to funding, and what it is used for...
http://breastcancer.about.com/od/suppor ... rities.htm

Yoplait lids is another one...

It just doesn't seem like it is about cancer research or awareness anymore, just about making money. Things like fundraisers or "walking for a cure" make more sense than KFC or Mike's Lemonade promos. It's like the whole "green" movement... kinda loses credibility when the message gets tainted and watered down...

Also, there's the whole "I like it..." thing on facebook. "I like it on the table" when referring to where they like to keep their purses. Does this really raise awareness? Do women really have to allude to sex in order to bring awareness?

I made a point to respond to my sister's post about liking it on the kitchen table with "This really doesn't work for me. I like it in my chrome bag when I'm riding my bike?"

Can you explain this to me? I'm honestly confused by the "I like it" thing. Like what? I see it everywhere and never ask because I feel I should already know.

People are putting where they like to keep their purses. "I like it (my purse) on the table". But it has sexual undertones. For example, "I like it (sex) on the table" . It is supposed to get the attention of men (or keep them in the dark...I'm not sure) and raise breast cancer awareness.

Last time this one done it was with bra colors. So you might remember people posting "polka-dot" or "red"

And this benefits what? I feel like saying, "Hey guys! Look! I am saying something stupid so you know breast cancer exists!" is really stupid. Why don't they link to how to do self-exams or where to go for low-cost care in their area? Drives me nuts.

Oh, this stuff riles me up!

When the whole pink ribbon thing started to get popular, I remember hearing about some group that was doing makeovers/makeup parties for women battling cancer. I thought, really? Because what they need is more carcinogens? (mainstream, chemically, animal-testy makeup)

A while back I looked at a "pink edition" Sunchips bag. Cut out the proof of purchase, send it in (you pay for postage), and they donate 35 cents to Komen (of course). So, the only way this even makes sense is if I eat a shittaketon of Sunchips, otherwise I'll be paying more for the stamp than what gets donated.

I'm all about awareness. But the pink product stuff is just a clever marketing tool that corporations and Komen were lucky enough to stumble onto. I wonder how many wonderful groups are out there really working their butts off on prevention or treatment or whatever that will never get any name recognition because Komen has become such a beast?

And what's worse is that the way these things work is that the company decides to donate a certain amount of money. Then they tell people that they'll donate $X for each product sold or proof of purchase (or yogurt top) sent in. But what you buy/send in doesn't really influence how much money the company donates because they've set it up so they'll sell more than enough to meet their prechosen donation amount. So your individual proof of purchase doesn't really do anything. The NPR double your donation thing is the same, and it always annoys me. Though I cut NPR more slack because they actually use their money to make NPR (minus the thank you gifts.)

it's also out of control here. right now is "pink october" and the money is going to pharma company programs (supposedly). i don't like it.

when we were in the US in July we were seeing all these "i love..." bracelets on people and we were in line at a water park, and my daughter and i were trying to figure it out even though we couldn't quite read the bracelets.... when i finally was able to make one out i was like "I love boobies??" what the hell? you're a fifteen year old girl and you're NOT WEANED YET? What?? It was a weird few hours before i could ask someone what the hell it was all about.

i get really pissed. it's like those posts that says something like "every person have a million wishes, a cancer patient only have one: to get well. 99% won't post this, prove that you care by being in the 1%" and all i can think is 1) RIGHT, because when people become sick, they are not people anymore, with hopes and dreams and wishes, they are just a shell of disease. totally appropriate to apply to other people and 2) if your god damn status update was a link to some real information on how to help prevent cancer or where to donate money to a serious organization, i'd probably repost it.

Something was bothering me about that particular post, and I couldn't quite figure it out. It was exactly this. The idea that sick people are only sick, not people. I don't like it.

Same here. I saw this and found it incredibly irritating, but I couldn't verbalize why. Thanks, Smoothie.

I wish I had the balls to post this as a comment on everyone's pinkwash shiitake status updates. But I told the Mr. (who shares a FB name and account with me) to be neutral and not comment.